Tuna Mayo Onigiri (ツナマヨおにぎり, Tsuna Mayo Onigiri)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rice cooker, or a heavy pot with a tight lid
• •Small bowl of water for shaping
• •Onigiri mold, optional, though cupped hands are the usual tool

Instructions

1. 1

   Wash the rice

   Put the rice in a bowl, cover with water, and stir with your fingers. Pour off the cloudy water and repeat until the water is only lightly cloudy, usually three or four washes. This removes loose surface starch so the cooked rice tastes clean and clings without turning pasty.

2. 2

   Cook and rest

   Cook the rice with 2 1/4 cups water in a rice cooker, or bring it to a boil in a covered heavy pot, lower the heat, cook 15 minutes, then rest off the heat 10 minutes. Resting lets the moisture settle evenly, which matters because dry edges crack and wet rice collapses.

3. 3

   Mix the filling

   Drain the tuna hard, pressing out excess liquid with a fork. Stir it with the Japanese mayonnaise, soy sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until just combined. The filling should be rich but not loose, because wet tuna seeps into the rice and makes the onigiri fall apart.

   Japanese mayonnaise is richer and a little sharper than many Western mayonnaises. If you use another kind, add the soy sauce first and taste before adding more salt.
4. 4

   Season your hands

   Fluff the rice and let it cool until warm enough to handle. Set a bowl of water and a small dish of salt beside you. Wet your hands, then rub a pinch of salt across your palms. The water keeps the rice from sticking, and the salt seasons the outside where your tongue meets it first.

5. 5

   Fill the rice

   Take about 1/2 cup warm rice in one palm and make a shallow hollow in the center. Add 1 heaped teaspoon of tuna mayo, then cover with a little more rice. Don't overfill it. A generous center is pleasant, but an escaped center is only lunch trying to leave.

6. 6

   Shape gently

   Cup both hands around the rice and press it into a triangle, turning it after each press. Use three or four firm, gentle presses, not kneading. You are asking the grains to hold together while keeping their shape, not crushing them into paste.

7. 7

   Wrap with nori

   Wrap each onigiri with a half sheet of nori just before eating if you want the seaweed crisp. For meal prep or a picnic, wrap the rice balls separately and add the nori later, or wrap them early and accept the softer texture. Both are common; choose the one that suits the eating.

Chef Tips

• •Use Japanese short-grain rice. Long-grain rice won't cling in the same way, and no amount of pressing will make it behave kindly.
• •Drain the tuna more than you think. The filling should mound on a spoon, not slide off it. Onigiri rewards restraint.
• •Shape while the rice is warm. Cold rice resists you, hot rice burns you, and both make people say this is difficult when it's only timing.
• •If packing for later, keep onigiri cool and eat the same day. Tuna mayo is not a filling to leave warm on a bench while you admire your own planning.

Advance Preparation

• •The tuna mayo filling can be mixed up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated in a covered container.
• •Cook the rice the day you shape the onigiri. Fresh warm rice holds best and gives the cleanest texture.
• •For meal prep, shape the onigiri without nori, wrap each tightly, refrigerate, and add nori just before eating. Eat within 24 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 175g)